, 1887-03-24
washington Territory,

~
ington into the union as state, is I'M
fortunate, although not unexpected.
This failure, together with the failure
OF the bill to annex Northern Idaho to
this territory, means the further post
ponement of our admission for IN in
definite period. 1t also means that the
early settlers, the pioneers OF the coun-
try and its present population, are to
continue, with the help of such immi-
grants rs may Join them in the mean
time. to bear the burdens of local gov
ernment, of public Improvements, OF
the construction of roads and bridges,
the building of school houses and the
support of schools, without the advan-
tapes which would result from state or
panization. In so far as the matter OF
| education is alone concerned, n school
! fund has been secured or provided for
the future state, which will, with pro-
per management furnish magnificent
endowment for all time to come. IL is
certainly no exaggeration to say that
there is no state in the union, and no
territory hereafter to be admitted,
which will have richer school fund
than our own, If the lands now set
apart for that purpose, and heldin
trust for us by the general government,
shall he properly and honestly taken
care of.
When the time arrives to dispose OF
| these lands, it will become the duty OF
every good citizen, of every well'wisher
for the future OF this territory, OF every
man who appreciates the vast import
ance Of thorough system oil public in
struction amply provided with means
for the education OF all the children of
the state to its welfare and prosperity,
to use his utmost efforts to see that
! these lands are not squandered, as they
have been in many other states, but
! that the school fund shall realize from
them their full value, and that the
sums so realized shall be safely invest
ed. The 10th and 30th sections in
every township in the territory, which
are reserved for this purpose by the
general government, if carefully and
prudently managed, will produce n
very large fund, ample for the support
| of all the educational advantages OF
institutions required by the state 1t is,
however, well known fact, to those
who are familiar with the course OF
events throughout the territory, that
in every locality there are men who
have their eyes upon these lands, and
who hope to secure possession OF them
| for nominal price-for example %l.2J
or So per acre, when they are known
to be worth from $40 to $50, and at
! times 300 per acre. The coal and
timber lands of Western Washington
are immensly valuable, and are becom.
ing more so every year. Tide, swamp
and overilowed lands will also become
sources of large revenue to the future
state of Washington. In the eastern
part of the territory agricultural lands
are fast becoming valuable, chiefly for
wheat producing purposes. 1t is well
enough to sound Il note of warning
now in regard to the value of these
lands, before they have been coufiscat-
ed by the rapacity OF greedy land
hunters, whether those hunters come
in the guise of individuals or corpora
tions.
From none of these lands however,
no matter how valuable they may be
can any benefits be derived until the
territory becomes state. Our sparse
ly settled communities must continue
to tax themselves to build school
houses and maintain schools without
assistance from the public funds, no
matter how poor they may be. This
territory of ours has been organized for
more than third of q century. For
the lifetime of generation it has
been required to carry on its local
institutions without the advantages of
state government, apparently, of late
years, because neither its ability to
maintain such a government, nor its
advance in wealth and population are
understood in the states east Of the
Mississippi river. The hardships and
trials OF frontier life, necessarily under
gone by the early settlers of the coun-
try are rapidly passing into history.
There is no longer frontier where
men, in the effort to carve out for
themselves II home in the wilderness,
are exposed to the dangers of Indian
warfare, and all the pcrils and incon-
vcnicnces which are incident to alb
sence from civilization. The slow and
laborious journey with the patient OK
team is no longer necessary to reach
any part of our country. Railroad and
telegraph lines are now penetrating its
every section and the luXuries OF mod
ern life are to be found in the most
distant recesses of mountain and plain,
i'll all the western country. The men
are. even now, few in number, who are
to stop and listen to the experiences
and adventures, however thrilling. OF
those who came rs the advance guard,
the skirmishes OF civilization in its
movement toward the Pacific coast.
1t is not my purpose, however, to
refer to these facts OF history so much
as it is to offer some suggestions with
reference to another failure on the